My name is Clarence Lloyd, and I am a friend of the family. I have been friends with Bruce – from the beginning of time when we both had dark hair and more of it. I consider Anne Killian to be a dear friend. Our families spend most holidays together. In my house Sunday is family day – and more often than most – we sit down and have Sunday dinner as a family. Our families are very close and have shared a multitude of special moments together. I am not really a Killian – however Ruthanne and Timothy made feel like a member of the family. I mentioned that our families spend holidays together. This past Independence Day was no exception. Timothy and Ruthanne spent this July 4th with our family while Anne was at a Secular Franciscan Congress in Chicago. At around 11:40 pm on July 4th I said goodnight to Timothy - approximately 10 minutes later he had his fatal accident. I did not know of the accident until noon the following day. To say I was stunned is an understatement. To say I was angry is a major understatement. I was the guy in the middle of Lampson Boulevard, looking at tire marks demanding an explanation. After I heard of the accident, I got in my car and drove to Bruce’s apartment, hoping to find him there. I remember that when I was about half way there, I found myself alone in the car – and heard my voice scream: My Lord and my God – WHY? Then I offered a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come to me and give me the gift of understanding – because I certainly could not understand this. I have attended funerals where I felt angry and concerned, but for entirely different reasons. In these instances it was out of concern for a young man who had died and did not know God, or had little faith. The feeling of anger was because this young man was unprepared to meet his Maker. What would everlasting life be like for him? What I was feeling this time was for completely different reasons. Timothy Killian is the guy who works hard, always does the right thing, and loves God. I remember when Tim was in High School, I would drive him home from Boy Scout meetings. Sometimes Tim would ask me to drive him home early and it would sound something like this: “Mr. Lloyd, would it be alright if we left a little early tonight? You see I have a chemistry test in the morning – and the last time I read the 3 chapters we’re being tested on, I did not understand it”. I would reply, “OK Tim, but what is your game plan?” He would say: “My plan is to work harder and to pray.” He did work hard and pray, and as a result was admitted to a great University – Cal Poly Pomona. He had his major and knew exactly what he was going to do. The first year the financial aid money guaranteed to him was not available due to a bureaucratic snafu. Tim was left hanging with not enough money to cover expenses. I had numerous conversations with Tim, and asked him what about his game plan. His reply was: “Well, I am going to work harder and pray twice as much.” Tim did pray and work harder. He convinced the University to allow him to stay, somehow convinced the dormitory to allow him to remain, and convinced the university to allow him to enroll in courses. Tim worked hard, prayed and prevailed, earning good grades and resolving his dilemma. Tim Killian always did the right thing and always lived his faith. Tim was very active in the Newman Club at Cal Poly. He organized events, helped serve Mass, and did everything he could to make it a meaningful organization for Catholics at the University. It is accurate to say that there are hundreds of students at Cal Poly who Tim Killian cared for and whom he loved. It is equally accurate to say that there are hundreds of students at Cal. Poly who care and love Tim Killian. Tim Killian always did the right thing. He lived his Faith every day. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago when I spoke with Tim. He was very excited about the prospect of his new internship. “Hello Mr. Lloyd, how is your day going?” “I am doing well, Tim and yourself?” “Well, Mr. Lloyd, I have some exciting news and a problem – or really some good news and a couple of problems. On the one hand I just interviewed for an internship – it is exactly what I want to do, it is local so I do not have to leave Southern California, the interview went extremely well – AND IT PAYS A SALARY !” “Well that’s great Tim, but what is the problem?” Tim replied: “Well on the one hand I need a car for transportation to and from work, and on the other hand, I don’t have any money to buy a car.” I asked Tim: “What is your game plan?” His reply was: “Mr. Lloyd I plan to pray really hard.” Usually if a 21 year old tells you that his plan is to pray really hard, it means one of 2 things : 1) he is blowing you off and is not serious or 2) he is covering up a great deal of abject laziness. Not this time: we are talking about Tim Killian. Tim Killian has such a profound respect and love for the Holy Spirit – knowing the odds were against him and he was out of options -- he knew that if he prayed with all of his heart and all of his soul – he would not be ignored. Tim got his car. A friend’s father wanted to get rid of an old car and another friend helped him to fix up this car. This is an example of the depth of Tim Killian’s faith. The young man who was just taken from us is a man who always worked hard, did the right thing, lived his faith and had a profound love for the Holy Spirit. I spent Thursday afternoon very angry thinking about what I had just lost. In an effort to brush away my anger, I decided to lie down and think of the magnificent gift I had been given. It was true that Tim had been in a fatal crash blocks from my house the previous night. It was also true that I had been given a divine gift of spending that last day with Timothy. The holiday actually began the evening of July 3rd on my friend’s boat in Alamitos Bay. The Yacht Club had brought a barge into the harbor to launch the fireworks and we had a front row seat. It was a spectacular show. When it finished, I turned to Timothy and asked, “So Tim, what did you think?” After a long pause he replied: “Isn’t nature beautiful?” I then stated, “Tim, those were fireworks; they come from China.” “Oh, I know, Mr. Lloyd. But when the beautiful lights fall downward they reflect off the bouncing waves on the surface of the ocean. Isn’t nature beautiful!” Timothy Killian can see the hand of God in a fireworks show! The 4th was picture perfect. Timothy and my nephew Brendan spent the day preparing a banquet on my Weber barbeque. They cooked the entire day- two barefoot young men with a passion for food. Anne – I believe you would have liked this – they lit the BarBQue and they laughed – they burned themselves and they laughed - they seasoned the meat and they laughed – they relit the fire and they laughed. It was joyous music to my ears. I don’t believe it was about the food or the holiday, but rather 2 good friends appreciating their friendship, enjoying the day. After their hard work family and friends enjoyed the Banquet that Tim and Brendan had prepared. Later that evening we walked to the end of the neighborhood to watch another fireworks show. As fate would have it, on the walk back Timothy and I became separated from the rest of the group. This gave us another opportunity for one of our talks. The closer we came to my house, the more serious the conversation became. I was struck by how this was not the same Timothy who had gone off to college, but a much more mature man who had given a great deal of critical thinking to what was important in life. The conversation was long, but this is a summary: Timothy believes that life is not something that should be traveled passively, but lived through actively, deliberately, purposefully. The way you accomplish this is by being determined to live your faith. Each morning you should get up and approach every challenge, opportunity, victory, or setback through the prism of living your faith. Every person you come in contact with, determine to treat that person through the prism of living your faith. So Timothy Killian is not someone who just lived his faith, but developed a plan to make sure he continued to do so. After we got home Timothy went straight out to the back of the house to the firepit. Being the good Eagle Scout Timothy built a rather robust fire, and as the evening continued it became an increasingly robust fire. I couldn’t help thinking you can take the young man out of scouting, but you can’t take the scout out of the young man After roasting marshmallows and relaxing, his sister Ruthanne went up to bed, leaving the four men around the campfire: TImothy, myself, Brendan and Christopher. It was the campfire talk which gave me a glimpse of how much Timothy Killian had grown in his faith. As the discussion turned from politics, to church politics, to matters of faith, it was abundantly clear to me that on matters of faith, there was one clear and competent voice, and that voice was Timothy Killian. As he spoke up on matters of faith I made three observations. One was that Timothy was extremely well educated about his faith. I choose my words carefully—he was extremely well educated in his faith. This does not surprise me knowing his mother and his father. Secondly, Timothy Killian was extremely confident in his faith. With each subsequent answer to questions, it was obvious that Timothy had given a great amount of thought to and contemplation of his faith. He knew what he believed in and why he believed. And thirdly, what impressed me the most, Timothy was extremely comfortable in his faith. Because of his studies, because of the enormous amount of time spent contemplating, Timothy was very much at ease explaining, teaching and defending his faith. Each of these was for Timothy is as easy as gravity. When he spoke up to offer a differing opinion he never did so out of anger, bravado or ego. His answers were soft spoken, with humility, but with confidence. So this evening I learned much about Timothy Killian: He is a man who not only lived his faith, but a very thoughtful man who developed a plan to continue living his faith. He is a mature thoughtful man who has mastered his faith. So the evening roughly 24 hours after the fatal accident, I was reflecting on my last day with Timothy and my favorite campfire of all time, when I had a revelation: an Aha! moment. This revelation was not a result of my intellect, but rather I had separated myself from my anger long enough to hear the answer to my prayer, the prayer I had offered up much earlier that day—that the Holy Spirit would give me the gift of understanding. The revelation went something like this: Perhaps Timothy Killian was the most prepared man I will ever know to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and meet his Savior. Put another way, perhaps the young barefoot man who helped to prepare the banquet in my backyard that day was the most prepared man I will ever know to enter the banquet in heaven. It is as if the banquet he helped cook for his family and friends was a departing thank you gift just before he entered the real banquet with his heavenly Father. Timothy Killian accomplished more in 21 short years on earth than most men can hope to accomplish in a lifetime. He learned his faith, he mastered his faith, and he lived his faith every moment of every day on earth. Perhaps then the most logical place for Timothy Killian at this time is in heaven with his Savior, with his beloved Saint Pio and all the other saints. The difference now is, instead of studying and reading about these saints, they are now his roommates. As an aside, wouldn’t you have loved to have heard the first conversation between Padre Pio and Timothy Killian, when both of them expressed in their own words to each other what it was like to finally be in the presence of Jesus Christ? That must have been special. I have no doubt that at this very moment Timothy Killian is in a place very high up in heaven in a room prepared for him by his Father. It is a room that he is very familiar with, and very comfortable in. For Timothy Killian has prepared to take up residency in this room every moment of his life on earth. I’m going to let you in on a secret. I am not one to let an opportunity pass me by. I have spoken to Timothy and asked him and his new roommates to pray for me and everyone else in this room that we may be sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us during this difficult time, and to share with us a smidgeon of his wisdom and understanding that he learned while on this earth. So now there is only one appropriate thing left to say: Congratulations, Timothy Killian! Congratulations on a life well lived!